Gray-Hat Hacking
Overview
Computer security is a growing concern with the onset of always-on connections in the home and the emerging global network. More and more people become connected everyday. The reliance on computers in our daily lives has increased the need for security and has shifted the ethical line for hackers and hacking.
“A hacker is someone with deep knowledge of and great interest in a system. A hacker is someone who likes to delve into the inner workings of a system to find out how it works.”2 The definition of a hacker has been skewed in recent years by the press to connotate people who break into computer systems. The term has also evolved to represent people who protect computer systems and those that break into them. These newly termed hackers can be classified into three categories white-hat, black-hat, and gray-hat hackers. White-hat hackers are employed by corporations and work on the good side to secure computer systems without breaking into them. Black-hat hackers work on the bad side and attempt to compromise systems in illegal ways. Gray-hat hackers occupy the gray space of hacking and break into systems to learn and expose flaws, often as a service to the computer community. The ethical line dividing white-hat hackers and black-hat hackers is clear. However, the line that separates gray-hat hackers from black-hat hackers is constantly shifting in the new global network. Hacking that may have been considered ethical yesterday may not be true today due to the impact on global systems in the form of dollars loss and downtime.
Hacking has evolved from simply having knowledge of systems by harmlessly breaking into them to an issue of security and computer crimes (cybercrimes). Hacking attac...
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...um Copyright Act, 1998,
http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf
5 Deborah Radcliff, Playing by Europe’s rule, 2001,
http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,62057,00.html
6 US Department of Justice, Federal Computer Intrusion Laws,
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cclaws.html
7 Council of Europe, Convention on Cybercrime CETS No.:185, 2001,
http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/cadreprincipal.htm
8 CSI / FBI, Computer Crime and Security Survey, 2003,
http://i.cmpnet.com/gocsi/db_area/pdfs/fbi/FBI2003.pdf
9 George W. Bush, President’s Message to the Senate on the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, 2003,
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/senateCoe.pdf
10 US Department of Justice, FAQ on Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, 2003,
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/COEFAQs.htm
In reality, most hackers are ordinary people with a great deal of curiosity, above-average skills with a computer, a good understanding of human nature, and plenty of time to kill. Hackers have no distinguishing characteristics. Your next-door neighbor could be a hacker, as could your niece or nephew, one of your co-workers, or even the kid who serves you coffee in the morning. Not all hackers are dangerous and out to destroy business or damage lives. The view of the general public toward hackers is mixed. A recent CNN-poll shows 33% of respondents labeling hackers as "useful," 17% seeing them "as a menace," and the majority (45%) seeing hackers as "both" useful and a menace (CNN, 1999).
Our generation is the first to travel within cyberspace, a virtual world that exists with all the computers that form the global network. For most people today, cyberspace is still a bewildering and alien place. How computers work and how they affect our lives is still a mystery to all but the experts, but expertise doesn't necessarily guarantee morality. Originally the word hacker meant computer enthusiasts but now that the internet has revealed its potential for destruction and profit the hacker has become the outlaw of cyberspace. Not only do hackers commit crimes that cost millions of dollars, they also publicize their illegal techniques on the net where innocent minds can find them and be seduced by the allure of power and money.
The documentary Rise of the Hackers, focuses on the rising criminal use of hacking and how it is effecting multiple areas of technology. The documentary describes simple and complicated situations concerning hacking, but there still questions that must be answered when it comes to hacking and crime. The main question is in trying to determine why a person would choose to commit computer hacking. There are various theories already present within the criminal justice system that may explain at a micro-level and macro-level. These theories would explain why offenders would commit the crimes, but it may not answer the full scope of the question. The Routine Activities Theory would help to explain why offenders offend, why victims are victimized,
people’s lives. Hackers are not only threatening people’s own cyber security and privacy but also the United States’ economy, security and all citizens’ lives. On mid-November 2011, Russian hackers failed to attack a water plant in Illinois (Nakashima).Therefore, the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 was made. The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 is “a bill to enhance the security and resiliency of the cyber and communications infrastructure of the United States” (“S.2015”)The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 was the battle between the national security and personal privacy.In this paper I will lay out three different position people take on the issue about The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 .
The use of hacking to identify weaknesses in computer security has become an increasingly controversial issue in recent years. Awareness of this issue is important, because our ever increasing reliance on technology means that breaches in computer security have the potential to have wide-ranging and devastating consequences to society, worldwide. This essay will begin by clearly defining the term ‘hacking’ and will examine the type of people who hack and for what reasons. There will then follow a discussion of the moral argument on hacking before examining a few brief examples. The essay will then conclude by arguing against the use of hacking as a means of identifying weaknesses in computer security.
7. Lemos, Robert, When is Hacking a Crime? 26 Sept 2002, ZDNetNews, 15 Mar. 2004, <http://www.frame4.com/php/printout88.html>
Confucianism is mainly based on the Shang, Xia and the Zhou dynasties traditions and has dominated the feudal society that has practically lasted 2000 years due to the great influence it has had on history, the society and the social structure as well as the people of China in general (Travel China Guide, 2011). As intended by the founder, Confucianism aimed at making better the society and individuals therein hence educated people to be self motivated and self controlled and to enable people to assume their responsibility which would in turn cultivate a better self and harmonious society.
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Confucius (551–479 B.C.) was a Chinese philosopher and founder of the Confucian school of thought, which greatly influenced political and social life in China. His teachings are known primarily through the Analects of Confucius, a collection of "brief aphoristic fragments", which was compiled many years after his death. Although he didn’t write any books, his students did the writing based on his teachings and millions of people still rely on Confucius's philosophy as a guide to live. Until the twentieth century, Confucianism was the state religion of China. Confucius (Master K'ung Ch'iu), His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism or Daoism. Legalism was a third Chinese philosophy, a Classical Chinese philosophy that emphasizes the need for order above all other human concerns. At the other extreme was the philosophy known as Legalism. Proponents of Legalism did not concern themselves with Confucian values of ethical and mor...
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